Surviving the 'silly season'

Here are some quick tips from the Glucose Club* on how to enjoy yourself during the 'silly season' while maintaining a happy balance.

Rethink your thinking. Change your thinking to enjoy Christmas parties for the company you are in rather than the food you will eat and alcohol you'll drink.

Make your Christmas party active. For your own Christmas party why not go to the park? You'd be surprised how often people are happy to be active in a team sport at these events.

Get moving in the morning. Don't cancel the exercise session. Move your usual exercise time to the morning - before the party!

Hit the shops. Shopping can be physically active - wear your pedometer that day and see how far you go!

Christmas is just one day! It's only one day in December – it doesn't have to be every Christmas party you attend.

And on the food front:

Eat to enjoy but not to excess. If you know you are going to a Christmas bash and are likely to eat foods that are 'of lesser nutritional value', try doing a bit more activity that day.

Delicious conversation. Choose to eat before you go to the Christmas party so you are full and can focus on conversations!Moderate your alcohol intake. Keep the alcohol down by drinking a glass of water between each alcoholic drink and offering alcohol-free drinks or even an old fashioned punch.

Why passwords should become a thing of the past

Are you a monogamist when it comes to passwords? Only one password for you no matter what the purpose! Or do you practice passwordpolygamy? A password for each different occasion – and then suffer brain strain trying to remember them all. Whether you stick one or juggle many, there is a strong chance that your passwords are not very secure and could be cracked by someone with evil intent. Wired reporter Mat Honan discovered the hard way that the convention of password security used throughout the online world is ultimately not very secure – Mat had his accounts hacked and completely lost access to his Amazon, iTunes and Google accounts, with data being erased in a malicious example of just how fallible password security is.

The alternative – well there are moves to use biometrics and this will be an interesting development, especially considering that your unique fingerprint or retina would have to be held by third parties to allow the technology to work.

You can read Mat's scary story, as reported by Smart Company, by clicking here.

Our e-Bulletin subscriber winner is …Ross Coulthard

Congratulations to Ross - the lucky subscriber that will receive an Apple iPad simply for being an active subscriber to our e-Bulletin.

Ross is the owner operator of RW Coulthard Electrical, electricians servicing the Wellington area. We hope to see Ross out and about with his new mobile device, making the most of this technology.

A touch of glass in the Big Apple

Sometimes you have to just take a leap and see where you land in business. This is exactly what glass artist Lisa de Boer of Glass Xpressions did recently when she approached New York-based fashion icon Garo Sparo to see if he was interested in a concept to represent his fashion in her glass. Garo - founder and head designer of his self-named couture design house and star of Foxtel's 'Unleashed by Garo' - loved the concept and invited Lisa to visit him in New York. The meeting was very successful and it looks like Lisa and her collaborating artist Shaun McIntosh will be working with Garo in the future.

We congratulate you Lisa on taking a risk and putting yourself out there – and also proving that the world really is your market when it comes to great ideas and hard work.

Pictured at right is her 'Glamazon' creation.

Lisa manufactures custom-made glass art and splashbacks for the home, office and commercial applications. You can find out more about Glass Xpressions and Lisa's work on the website at: http://www.glassxpressions.com.au or on her facebook page by clicking here.

Employer must-dos in 2013

A word from David Bates, our specialist employee relations partner

In response to subscribers asking about the most important things that they should do to ensure compliance with Australian employment law, these are the top three:

Check you are providing the ten National Employment Standards (NES) to all your eligible employees.

Check whether any of your employees are covered by Modern Awards.

Make sure all Award-covered employees have been assigned a specific Award classification.

David covered this topic in full in our Business Briefing newsletter (available on our website or hard copies from Reception or by phoning 03 5144 4566).

For information about subscribing to WG please click on the following link:

SMSF limited recourse borrowing arrangement

An SMSF limited recourse borrowing arrangement typically involves an SMSF taking out a loan from a third party lender or from a related party, such as a member of the fund. The SMSF then uses the loan, together with its own available funds, to purchase a single asset (normally a residential or commercial property) that is held in a separate trust.

The SMSF trustee acquires a beneficial interest in the asset with the trustee of the separate trust being the legal owner of the asset. The SMSF trustee has a right to acquire legal ownership of the asset by making one or more payments. Any

investment income received from the asset goes to the SMSF and if the SMSF defaults on the loan, the lender's rights are limited to the asset held in the separate trust. This means there is no recourse to the other assets held in the SMSF.

Ian Mein is Director of Phillipsons Financial Planning, with more than twenty years' experience in funds management and financial planning. He can help you with any questions you might have on your own SMSF.

Phillipsons refers to Phillipsons Accounting Services Pty Ltd and Phillipsons Financial Planning
Pty Ltd
-
member firms of Phillipsons, each of which is a separate and independent legal entity.Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation